St. Francis Prep 6 Fontbonne 4
“It’s like losing members of your family each year,” said Fontbonne Head Varsity Softball Coach Frank Marinello before the start of the May 1 St. Francis game at Dyker Park on Senior Day. “However all these girls can always come back,” Marinello reminded his five graduating seniors.
After the traditional exchange of season memories and presentation of flowers, the Bonnies took the field in what would be a season-ending contest for first place for the upcoming playoffs.
The Bonnies came to bat trailing 3-2 in the sixth inning, looking to push across some more runs as pitcher Bianca Marletta came to the plate prepared to help offensively.
“I want to help my own cause,” said a determined Marletta earlier in the game. Coincidentally, Marletta had that chance to contribute as she led off the inning with a double that set up Arianna Dillon’s game-tying RBI single to knot the score at 3-3.
With either team unable to break the 3-3 tie in the seventh inning, the game went into extra innings where the Terriers started a one-out, three-run rally in the top of the eighth inning. Down by three runs, the Bonnies could only produce one run in the bottom of the eighth inning for the final 6-4 St. Francis win.
The win for the Terriers puts St. Francis into first place for the playoffs, while the Bonnies end up with a 4-3 league record for third place.